Kittymaru
by zmokachan
Summary: Another one of Inui's juices goes terribly wrong...but this one is more challenging than others! As situations get increasingly difficult, can the regulars keep the secret from Coach Ryuzaki? What about their parents? Inui's outdone himself this time...
1. Of Juices and Scrapbooks

**Disclaimer:** The Prince of Tennis and all of its characters are © to Takeshi Konomi. I do not own any of the characters used in this story so far, but the story is _my property_.

**Warning:** This story may contain unintentional crack. o-o;

* * *

Kittymaru

_Chapter 1: Of Juices and Scrapbooks_

A hot day found the Seigaku regulars panting and stumbling through practice. It wasn't just hot, though. It was blisteringly hot, the most painful kind of heat that a person could possibly practice through. They determinedly slaved through the torture of running and swinging their rackets, but even so, the heat, exhaustion, and mental toll from their mental exams earlier that day, left them all to irritable to be good.

Under the circumstances, it seemed only natural that when Eiji missed his fifth ball that afternoon, it was bound to get ugly.

Although, Sadaharu's new untested juice was indeed a little harsh…

* * *

"Meh! I'm tired Oishi…" Eiji complained. Oishi stumbled behind him.

"Hai, so am I," he panted. They swayed as they walked toward the bench by the courts, looking like they would topple over at any second. The rest of the team was struggling to stay upright, as well. Practice had not been easy. Tezuka was relentless…why did it have to be so hot out today? They plopped down on the bench with sighs of relief, their feet practically screaming in thanks to them. Silence engulfed them as they sat sprawled out on the bench, listening to the sounds of the other's rapid breathing. There wasn't much to talk about right then, and they were definitely _way_ too tired to talk. They stayed like that for a while, until their breathing slowed down, eyes closed and bodies drenched with sweat. Going over the practice in his head, Oishi silently worried for his partner.

* * *

Eiji lunged for the ball as it, rather slowly, bounced into his side of the court. He had to get it, he had to hit it back. He'd already messed up too many times today. His racket head was mere centimeters away from brushing against the small, green ball, when all of a sudden, the racket dipped down as he fell to the ground with an audible THUD, the ball bouncing past him where is rolled to a stop. He was just too tired.

"Game! Momoshiro-Kawamura Pair leads three games to two!"

Oishi bustled over to his partner, who was lying on the ground, panting for breath. He knew Eiji was absolutely exhausted. It didn't make sense, Eiji had incredible stamina! He had proven it when he used his speed step against Rokkaku in the Kanto Region Semi-Finals. '_It might've been the acrobatics. They are exhausting enough without the heat! But I doubt that. Maybe he stayed up too late last night…_' Oishi thought with a sigh.

The other regulars gathered around the two. Tezuka was not there at the time, thank goodness. He would've punished Eiji severely for his mistake. Oishi cringed when he saw Sadaharu bring out one of his Inui juices. Eiji shuddered.

"Super Inui Deluxe Golden Supernova," Sadaharu grinned. "It hasn't been tested yet, but it seems to be necessary."

"What?! It hasn't been tested?!" Momo gasped, "You can't make him drink that!"

"I ran out of my other juices," Sadaharu informed him, briefly glancing towards the gates where everyone witnesses Ryoma and Kaidoh fleeing through. "Tezuka has already given me the okay."

He was met with shocked silence. Tezuka must've been in an _extremely_ bad mood, at least, worse than they thought, if that's even possible.

"Drink up, Eiji," he smirked. He was obviously happy that he got to use his juices once again.

"Nya! I'm scared!" Eiji whimpered, sitting up. The drink was _orange and green_. Was that even possible? Even Fuji seemed a little unnerved about the color.

This was _not_ going to be good.

Sadaharu handed the concoction to Eiji, who almost dropped it.

"It feels like it's…moving!" Eiji gasped.

This was _definitely_ not going to be good.

Suddenly, Eiji sprang up. He held the drink up to the sky, dramatically proclaiming, " I'll never forget you guys!"

And he drank it.

His eyes got wider and he slowly looked at the drink with a look of utter confusion on his face.

_  
Then he_ _downed the rest of it_.

The others were stunned.

"NYA! That was delicious!! What did you put in it?! I want some more!!" Eiji licked his lips as he bounced around.

"Interesting reaction…" Sadaharu mumbled, a little disappointed. He started scribbling in his notebook.

"I _told _you they were good," Fuji smiled.

Eiji paused. "…but this one's different, nya!" He then sat down. "Dang, I forgot how tired I was," he complained.

"Oh my gosh!" Oishi felt his forehead. "Are you feeling sick? Getting dizzy? Have a stomachache?!" he said in a frenzy. "You should go to the infirmary and lay do—"

"I'm _fine_, Oishi!" Eiji interrupted. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Are you sure?! You never know wha—"

"I'm fine!"

"Positive?"

"Absolutely!" Eiji smiled.

"You should still go sit down for a while," Oishi told him, "just in case!"

Eiji pouted. "I already I told you, I feel _fine_, Oishi! Besides, we're losing 2-3, and we can't let Momo and Taka beat the Golden Pair!"

"…okay, but if you start feeling tired or sick, you should—ouch!" Oishi yelped. Eiji poked him in the forehead.

"Relax, Oishi! It's your serve!"

* * *

There had been no fainting, no begging for water, no running away screaming, nothing! He had even _liked_ the drink, if you could even call it a drink! Something was wrong with that picture. It's not like he's Shusuke! Something just _had_ to be up. The was no way that Sadaharu's drink—no, experiment, could _not_ have a side effect!

…or was there?

Maybe for once, the one sole time in all time, Sadaharu had made a normal drink…that just _helped_ Eiji, like they're supposed to. After all, they had won the match spectacularly after Eiji braved the concoction. Eiji had practically flown through the entire match! Oishi hoped that this was the case, but he still had his doubts about the lack of side effects.

"We should go get changed Oishi," Eiji laughed, "before we get locked out!"

"Y-yeah," Oishi stuttered. '_Maybe I should keep my eye on him._'

* * *

"Alright, who stole my hat?" Ryoma growled.

"I don't think someone would want to steal your hat...maybe it fell off of your head while you were running," Taka suggested.

"I think I would've remembered," he glared in response.

Momo chuckled. "How would you remember? You fainted after drinking Sadaharu's juice!"

"It was you, wasn't it? Give it back!"

"Me? I don't have your stupid hat! Why would I want your hat, anyways?"

"Cause you're a baka! Now hand it over!"

"I already told you, I don't have your hat!"

"There is a…twenty-one percent chance that is in concealed in Momoshiro's locker at this moment," Sadaharu stated.

"WHAT?!" Momo yelled. Ryoma stomped across the locker room and slammed open Momo's locker.

"…"

"…is it there?" Fuji asked. He strolled over and peered in. "Oh, that's indeed interesting."

"Momo-sempai, what _is_ that?" Ryoma asked.

"…huh? Oh, that. It's just a—hey, wait a minute!!" Momo rushed over and quickly pushed the two out of the way, slamming his locker shut.

"I think you left Oishi speechless, Momo, nya!" Everyone turned to look at the Golden Pair, who had walked in unnoticed while Momo and Ryoma were having their spat. Eiji had a rather sloppy grin on his face, and Oishi, well, his jaw had dropped to the floor.

"Momo…what's in there…?" Oishi slowly asked.

"Nothing of importance! Heheh!" Momo hastily replied, smiling an all-too-obvious fake smile.

"Momoshiro, open your locker," Tezuka ordered.

"Eh…"Momo sighed. He opened the locker door a tiny bit so that Tezuka could peer in, making sure that no one else could peek.

"…" Tezuka put a hand to his forehead.

"Haha. It's kawaii, isn't it?" Fuji smiled.

"I wasn't expecting that, Momo." Ryoma snickered.

"Wah! I wanna see!" Eiji darted over and shoved Momo out of the way so he could look inside.

"HEY!"

"Aw…what a cute cover! What's inside?!" Eiji snatched the mysterious object and scurried away to the bench on the other side of the locker room, where he plopped down and opened it. "Is that Ryoma's kitty? Kawaii ne!"

"Dang it," Momo cursed, hitting his head against the wall. The rest of the regulars wasted no time running over to see, minus Tezuka, of course.

"Why do you have a picture of Karupin in here?" Ryoma glared.

"Hey, that's Taka making some sushi! Looks tasty!" Eiji exclaimed.

Taka was surprised. "Really?"

"And…that's Kaidoh running down the street, isn't it?" Oishi pointed out.

"Fssshhhhhh…"

"A scrapbook, Momo?" Fuji chuckled.

"…art project…" he groaned in response.

"Why does it have flowers on the front?" Ryoma questioned.

"…and the back?" Kaidoh added.

"I had to use my sister's old book, _okay_?!" Momo yelled uncomfortably.

"I think it's cute. " Eiji grinned.

"Is that Fuji's cactus?" Taka asked.

Fuji turned to Momo with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "How did you get into my house?"

"Yuuta," Momo replied hastily, a little disturbed. "He let me in."

"Oh. Well, I'll have to have a talk with him," Fuji said to no one in particular.

Silence.

"So, Ryoma, was your hat in Momo's locker?"

"No," he glowered.

"Nya, O-chibi wasn't wearing a hat today," Eiji intervened, not looking up from the picture that he was so interested in.

"…oh yeah."

"Eh?!" The other regulars chibi-fell to the floor, except for Tezuka, cause he's Tezuka.

"Why didn't you say something before?!" Momo groaned.

"Because…it was fun to watch, nya!" Eiji nya'd.

"ARGH!" Momo hit his head on the wall again.

"Huh…wait. Does that mean Sadaharu's data was wrong?" Oishi asked.

"Negative, Shuuichiro. There was indeed a twenty percent possibility of it residing in Momoshiro's locker, but there was also a fifty-two percent chance that Ryoma did not wear his headpiece today."

"What?! Why didn't _you_ say something before?!" Momo yelled in exasperation.

"Because it was _fun to watch_," Sadaharu smiled, amused.

"AARGH!" Momo threw his hands in the air before slamming his head into his locker door with a loud CLANG, most likely leaving a dent in the old metal.

And so, the regulars proceeded to finish getting dressed. Not too much later, a question aroused.

"Nya, Oishi? Do you wanna spend the night at my house?"

"Huh? Oh, yes! I would love too," Oishi smiled. '_Now I'll be able to keep an eye on him_,' he happily thought. No, he hadn't forgotten like you did.

"Yay! Let's go, Oishi!!" Eiji exclaimed as he grabbed his partner's wrist and ran out of the locker room, pulling Oishi along with him.

"Hey, wait! SLOW DOWN!!" Oishi could be heard from a distance.

"How can he be so hyper all of the time?" Ryoma asked.

"This is _Eiji_ we're talking about, Ryoma." Tezuka answered.

Yes, Tezuka talked. Amazing, right?

"That is true…" Momo mumbled.

"…hey! He still has my scrapbook!"

* * *

As soon as the door opened, Eiji rushed inside and jumped onto the couch, immediately stuffing his hand into his bag, obviously looking for something. Oishi glanced at his face, which was one of intense concentration, tongue slightly sticking out.

"Ah ha!" Eiji exclaimed as he pulled out Momo's flowery masterpiece. "Now I get to see all of the pictures he got!"

"Eiji! You were supposed to return that! He didn't want us looking at it!" Oishi stammered.

Eiji gave him a weird look. "But don't you want to if he put any embarrassing pictures in it?" Eiji skimmed over the pictures. "…Oooh! See, it's Sadaharu with his glasses off!"

"It's not right, Ei—wait, really? Lemme see!" Oishi snatched the book—in a polite way, mind you. "Oh my goodness!"

"How'd you think he managed to get that?" Eiji chuckled.

DING DONG.

"I'll get it!" Eiji bounced over to the door, leaving Oishi to gape at the pictures by his lonesome. Not that he noticed, but you know what I mean. "Eh? What are you two doing here?" Oishi _did_ notice that, and turned around at Eiji's comment. Momo and Ryoma stood at the door. Well, Ryoma was a few yards behind Momo, glaring the heck out of a potted plant nearby, but still technically at the door.

"You should know why I'm here!" Momo was annoyed.

"Uh…you came so O-chibi could stare at my plant?"

Oishi sweat dropped. Ryoma was now glaring at Eiji.

"No!" he growled.

Momo sighed. "I'm here for my scrapbook!"

"So…why is O-chibi-chan here?"

"We go home together. Now, may I please have it?" Momo's voice was strangled, and Oishi guessed that it was all Momo could do to keep from lashing out at Eiji.

"Really? Did you lose it? That's not good! Hey, I'll help you find it, nya! Just lemme get my shoes and—"

"It's on your couch, Ei-ji-sem-pai," Ryoma sounded ouch each syllable in a menacing tone. He was about ready to explode. Wonder why…

Momo gave Eiji a stern look. Oishi felt that he needed to say something, but couldn't get the words out.

"Huh? It's not…oh. I guess I forgot!" Eiji smiled sheepishly.

Oishi thought he heard Ryoma mutter, "Baka."

"Can we look at it, Momo? Pleeeeease?" Eiji begged, putting on a puppy dog face. Only those without hearts could resist that face. Momo sighed.

"Alright, but only for a few minutes, okay?"

"Momo-sempai!" Ryoma hissed. "I need to get _home_." Eiji pouted at this, looking down at his feet. Ryoma looked at him. Oishi felt that the murderous aura emanating from Ryoma had somewhat disappeared. _Somewhat_ being the key word. In fact, it was an incredibly tiny amount, but still enough to make a difference, for Ryoma sighed and said, "But…I guess a few minutes won't hurt."

"Yay!" Eiji exclaimed as he gave him a hug. "Thanks O-chibi!"

"Get off," Ryoma tried to say, but it sounded strangled from lack of air. Eiji did so and bounced back to Oishi.

"Turn the page, nya! Turn the page!"

* * *

Yay! I finally uploaded it! :D

I've already written the next few chapters. This was only 4 1/2 pages out of the 40 something I wrote, but I stopped there because it's taking _forever to type_! I have big plans for this story, and if you wanna suggest an idea that you would like to see in the story, by all means! I'm bound to run out of ideas eventually.

See you in the next chapter!  
_Yukari_


	2. Ochibimaru

**Disclaimer:** The Prince of Tennis and all of its characters are © to Takeshi Konomi. I do not own any of the characters used in this story so far (although I do not plan on using any OCs), but the story is still _my property_.

* * *

Kittymaru

_Chapter 2: O-chibi-maru_

The group of four leafed through the scrapbook, where they discovered some rather interesting and well, humiliating photographs. Momo seemed to have a tendency to put his finger on the camera lens. The three laughed at him. That is, until the doorbell rang again. This time, it was Kaidoh and Sadaharu stationed on the porch. Kaidoh held a large stuffed bear.

"Daigorou!" Eiji exclaimed as he hugged the bear. "Did you fall out the window again? I told you to be more careful! What would happen if you broke your leg and couldn't get back up?!" he told his bear seriously.

The others sweat dropped.

"I'm leaving then," Kaidoh hissed.

"Wait! Why don't you stay for a while, nya?" Eiji pulled Kaidoh into the house. "Eh, no offense Sadaharu, but why are you here too?"

"Data collecting," was all he said, obviously ignoring the rude question, and he settled himself in a chair by the window.

Oishi sighed. Eiji was going to get himself in so much trouble one day. "Are you sure it's okay for so many people to come over?" he voiced his concerns. "Your parents might not approve of it, Eiji."

Eiji gave him a grin. "They won't be home all weekend! They left on some sort of business trip and took my brothers and sisters with them. I've got the house to myself! As long as it's all clean when they get home, then I can do anything I want!" Eiji celebrated, bouncing up and down. "Hey, do you think we can have Taka cook some sushi for us?"

"Eiji," Oishi gasped, "Taka has to work!"

Sadaharu corrected him, "Taka has taken today and the two upcoming days off."

"Yay! I'll go call him!" Eiji rushed out of the room. Oishi sighed.

Ryoma asked, "Sadaharu, why are you _really_ here?" All heads turned to look at the data master.

"Tezuka asked me to analyze Eiji's condition," he confessed, "to make sure that there weren't any sudden side effects."

Oishi gave a sigh of relief. Eiji could really be a handful sometimes, and Oishi was grateful for the extra help in controlling his, well, hyperness. Although, he would have to brave it himself through the night, but that was okay, he'd done it many times before. And, on the brighter side, Tezuka was in a better mood than before.

"…where do I put the bear?" Kaidoh asked, picking it up off of the floor where Eiji had dropped it when he rushed to call Taka.

"Oh, I'll take care of it!" Oishi offered, bustling over. "Thanks for returning it!"

Kaidoh gave a hiss in reply. Oishi dashed up the stairs.

"…why are we here again?" Ryoma questioned.

Momo answered, "We came here to get my scrapbook, remember?"

"Yes, but we _have _the scrapbook, so why are we still here?" he grumbled with a glare.

"He gave you the face, didn't he? There was a one hundred percent chance." Sadaharu stated robotically. Momo gave a tiny chuckle.

"He did. Any _you_ fell for it _too_, Ryoma!" he added with a glare.

"Mada mada dane, Momo-sempai," Ryoma chuckled.

"Eh? I should be 'Mada mada dane'-ing you!" Momo yelled.

"Taka's coming over!!!" Eiji bounced in. "Now we get to eat tasty food!" he smiled. Momo and Ryoma stopped their bickering, and Oishi came back downstairs.

"You didn't trouble him, did you?" he worried. "There's no doubt that he has a ton of other things to do, and—"

"Relax, Oishi! You're such a worrywart!" Eiji told him.

Oishi still looked a bit nervous, but nevertheless replied, "Ah, gomen, gomen."

Eiji grinned. Then he plopped down on a pile of cushions on the floor.

"Ne, Sadaharu…what's the lowest score you've gotten on a test?"

"100%"

"Really? But you can't use your notes on a test!" Eiji said.

Sadaharu forced back a smile. "I don't use a notebook while I'm on the tennis court."

"But you can't…_ooh_. How do you remember all of that junk, nya?!"

"Data wa uso wo tsukanai yo," Sadaharu remarked. (Data doesn't tell lies)

"Eh?! That doesn't make any sense!" Eiji was flustered. "…or does it?! Nya! I'm so confused…" he tipped over sideways onto the cushion pile. The others just stared at him. He glanced at the cushions underneath him, a look of intense concentration passing briefly across his face, before he quickly picked one up and threw it at Momo.

"GAH!" Momo was hit in the face, falling backwards in shock with a big THUD.

"Momo!" Oishi gasped. Momo sprang to his feet and flung the pillow back at Eiji, but Eiji ducked, and the pillow soared into Ryoma, knocking his hat off. He glared, once again, and threw cushions at both of them, which bopped Eiji on the head, but missed Momo and hit Oishi square in the face. Oishi was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered, flinging back the cushion which hit both Momo and Ryoma.

"Yay Golden Pair!" Eiji chimed as they high-fived.

"We can't let them win, Ryoma! Attack!!" Momo yelled, throwing off a torrent of cushions like they were Frisbees. Eiji jumped in front of Oishi and was hit by most of them.

"No, Eiji!" Oishi cried as Eiji fell to the floor, pretending to be dead. He glared at their opponents. "You haven't won yet!" he said as he started flinging tons of cushions at them.

"Ah!" Momo yelped as he was drowned in cushions. Ryoma was nowhere to be found.

"Nyaaaaa!!!" Oishi turned around to see Eiji smack Ryoma with a cushion. Ryoma stumbled backwards before rejoining with Momo, who proclaimed dramatically, "We'll get you yet!" Ryoma and Momo armed themselves with handfuls of cushions.

"Just give up! You'll never beat the Golden Pair!" Eiji shouted back as they grabbed some cushions too.

And the cushion war began.

Oishi jumped behind a pillar as Momo sent a flurry of pillows his way, and gathered them as they settled on the floor around him. He threw a few to Eiji, who jumped out from behind the massive couch and flung the ammunition at their two opponents, who sprang out of the way in the nick of time. Ryoma grabbed a particularly large cushion and chased Eiji in circles around the room, but soon spotted Oishi nearby and gave him a good, hard smack with it, sending poor Oishi tumbling to the floor. Eiji quickly ambushed Ryoma with a cry of, "NYA!" and sent the freshman to the ground as well, swiping the younger's hat in the process. Eiji plopped it on his head.

"Look! I'm O-chibi!" he grinned, before side stepping as Momo pounced at him, which sent Momo to the floor as well.

"No! You've betrayed me, Eiji!" Oishi wailed.

"Wahaha! O-chibi-maru has conquered you all!" Eiji cackled, running rampantly around the room, with his hands in the air. "_O-chi-bi-MAR-U!!!!!_"

Ryoma fumed, "Give me my hat back!" and tackled O-chibi-maru to the floor, stealing his hat back. But, Ryoma happened to push Eiji onto a pile of _cushions_, and got a good whack to the face. Eiji chuckled and scurried back to Oishi, who had picked himself up and was dusting himself off.

"I'm back! We won, Oishi!!!" Eiji cheered. "O-chibi's hat is so scary! I saw so many _things_…"

"W-what things?!" Oishi sputtered.

"I saw a lot of bright colors, and all of a sudden, I felt like taking over the world! And laughing maniacally! I have to admit, it was fun though." Eiji smiled.

Ryoma looked away. "My hat is completely normal, I'll have you know."

Momo must've been distracted, since he _just_ got back up off the ground. "I demand a rematch!"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma smirked.

"Yay! Let's whup them, Oishi!"

And cushion war II began.

* * *

During the cushion frenzy, Kaidoh and Sadaharu, who were still present in the house, had taken it upon themselves to empty the room of its valuables, thankfully, and had somehow avoided getting spotted or hit while braving the madness. Now they were sitting in the corner, a good distance away from the war, mind you. They found some lemonade, or I should say Kaidoh found some, because Sadaharu wouldn't settle for _just_ lemonade. They watched in obvious amusement as Eiji flew around the room and Ryoma did the matrix to avoid cushions, only to end up falling on his rear. Sadaharu jotted down brief notes whenever he looked up, of course. It was too good of a chance to miss the data provided. The doorbell rang, which only the two still sane people in the room heard, if you could call Sadaharu sane, the others caught up in their competition. Kaidoh was the one to answer the door, Sadaharu not willing to leave his precious data, for there was too much information that could be missed in the span of a few seconds.

"Oh, hello, Kaidoh," Taka smiled from outside. Kaidoh said nothing as he led his tall friend inside, stepping over a few stray cushions along the way.

"Now, Ryoma!" they heard Momo yell, followed by yelps of surprise from the Golden Pair.

"Two can play at that game, nya!" Eiji yelled.

Taka froze as he entered the war zone, staring in astonishment at the disaster that was now the Kikamaru's living room. Cushions flew in every which direction, one blasting into the wall beside Taka's head, giving poor Taka quite a shock. Kaidoh seemed not to notice. In fact, now that Taka looked around, he saw that none of the cushions were going towards Kaidoh or Sadaharu. He decided to follow Kaidoh before he got hit.

"Ohayou, Sadaharu," he smiled. "What's going on in here?"

"I believe they called it a cushion war," Sadaharu answered. "I have to say, it is very amusing to watch."

Taka stared at the chaos. "Oishi too?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Sadaharu smiled. "It is indeed interesting data."

Kaidoh handed Taka a lemonade and pulled up another chair for him, which Taka took gratefully.

"How did this…_thing_ start?"

"Ah, Eiji threw a cushion at Momo," Sadaharu informed.

Taka could hear Kaidoh murmur, "…and that baka threw it back."

"Ah," Taka muttered. Sadaharu was right; it was very entertaining to watch. "So why are there so many people here?"

"Oishi's staying the night, Momo came for his scrapbook, which Eiji did not return, and Ryoma rides home with Momo, so he naturally ended up here as well."

Taka nodded, "But what about you two?"

"Fssshhhhhh…I should be training right now…" Kaidoh growled to himself.

"I am here on Tezuka's orders," Sadaharu stated, "to analyze Eiji's condition for any sudden symptoms of illnesses, change in character and/or personality, and so on."

"You make it sound more complicated than it is," Taka gave a tiny laugh. "And Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh pretended not to hear him, so Sadaharu answered again.

"Kaidoh found Eiji's stuffed large, stuffed plush out in the yard in front of the house, hidden among the bushes below Eiji's window, and took it upon himself to return it to said acrobat."

"Again, you make it seem so much more complicated than it is," Taka chuckled.

It was that particular moment that Eiji decided to look at the audience and spotted Taka in his house.

"Yay! Taka!!!" he jumped, dropping his cushions at his feet. "You're here!"

The flurry of cushions stopped.

"Oh, hello!" Momo smiled.

"Mada mada dane, sempai," Ryoma chimed in.

"Hey, I bet you didn't notice him until now, either!"

"Konbanwa, Taka-san," Oishi greeted with a smile. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I hope it wasn't too much trouble!"

"Ah, not at all," Taka replied, smiling. The doorbell rang again.

"Go answer the door, baka-sempai," Ryoma told Momo.

"Me?! Why don't _you_ answer the door?!"

Oishi walked past his two bickering teammates and opened the door for their visitors.

"Hello, Oishi," Fuji smiled at him. Tezuka stood beside him.

"Hello! What brings you two over here?" Oishi stepped aside to let the two inside.

"I figured that it would be nice if all of the regulars were here. That's _including_ Tezuka," Fuji turned and looked at their buchou with a victorious smile. Tezuka just sighed.

"Yay! Fuji-ko's here!" Eiji gave him a flying hug, almost knocking the boy over. Then he pouted, "Momo and O-chibi-chan were throwing cushions at us!"

"Oh, dear! We can't have that, now can we?" Fuji turned to stare at the two.

"Hey! You threw it first!" Momo cried.

"Yeah, but you threw it back!" Eiji stuck his tongue out at him. Momo steamed silently before grabbing a cushion and flinging it at him. Eiji ducked quickly, bringing Fuji down with him, and it soared over them…

…_hitting Tezuka in the face!_

* * *

Second Chapter Up! YIPPEE!!!

I am extremely sorry for the delay, I got sick recently and haven't had many chances to type with all of the work I've been doing. Well, I got it up! And I made my first cliffhanger! *O*  
I'll try and get the next chap up as soon as possible. Again, if you have any story ideas or suggestions, please tell me! Arigatou, gozaimasu! ;)

Till next time!_  
Yukari_


	3. Cushion Competition

**Disclaimer:** The Prince of Tennis and all of its characters are © to Takeshi Konomi. I do not own any of the characters used in this story so far (although I do not plan on using any OCs), but the story is still _my property_.

Okie-dokie! A few authors notes before we begin! =D I've received a couple comments I would like to address to my viewers.

Okay, I realize that there are a lot of cushions that were thrown in chapter two. I imagine that with Eiji's big family, they would have at least two couches. Then, there would be cushions on the couches, which total between six and eight And then, I imagined a small pile consisting of five or six cushions on the ground, where people could sit on the floor. All in all, that's between eighteen and twenty cushions! Make sense now? ;)

Although, with the upcoming chapters, I cannot explain where they get all the cushions from. Use your imagination, okay?

Another thing…names! I've had quite a few people tell me about using the wrong names for certain people. I'm gonna look out for those mistakes, but as long as you can tell who I'm talking about, then it shouldn't be a really big deal, right? Thankies!

One last thing. Have you read a fanfiction that has not been even the slightest bit OOC? If there was a fanfiction that was not OOC, I would be amazed! I mean, how can a fanfiction _not_ be OOC, if it wasn't made by the creator?!

…that is all. :) Enjoy Chapter Three!

* * *

Kittymaru

_Chapter 3: Cushion Competition_

Everyone froze. Tezuka's glasses dropped to the floor with a tiny _chink_. Momo was horrified. Eiji and Shusuke silently sniggered for a few seconds at said boy's expression, but were quickly reminded of the severity of the situation, and looked up at Tezuka slowly.

"Mada mada dane…buchou," Ryoma smirked.

The regulars gaped at him.

Tezuka slowly bent down and retrieved his glasses. "Momoshiro!"

Momo cringed.

Tezuka stared at him for a few seconds, which seemed very prolonged to the frightened ones in the room. It was _eternity_, waiting for Tezuka to speak. Momo gulped. Then, in the blink of an eye, Tezuka grabbed the fallen cushion and nailed Momo in the face with it.

"Haha! Good one, buchou!" Eiji and Shusuke laughed. Momo glared.

"Rah!" he yelled as he unleashed handfuls of cushions at the three of them. Ryoma soon stepped in to help. The victims let out a yelps of surprise as they fell to the ground.

"Moon Volley!!!" Oishi bellowed, squashing Momo and Ryoma with a large couch cushion.

"Yay! Oishi!" Eiji cheered.

"That's not fair! It's four against two!" Momo complained.

"That's your own fault, nya!"

"YOU KNOW WHA—"

_**TWEEEEEE!**_

"AAH! What was that?!"

Sadaharu held in his hands a whistle. "I believe I can solve this dilemma."

Everyone else just looked confused.

"Shall we make this into a competition?" Sadaharu smiled.

Oishi looked nervous. "Uh…"

"Why not?" Fuji smiled, "It could be fun!"

"YAY! Cushion War, nya!!!"

Sadaharu smiled and pulled out a microphone. "I shall be referee!"

"Ne, Inui," Eiji asked, "How'd you get that microphone?"

"…I have my ways," he stated. "Are you ready for the rules?"

"You already have rules?" Momo thought aloud. "What do you _do_ in your free time?!"

"Eh-hem!" Sadaharu glared. Momo shrank back. "Thank you. Now, there are three types of cushions, and each has a different size. There are the ones that resemble pillows, which are worth two points each. There are the couch cushions; those are worth two. And then the smallest cushions will count for three points."

He received many looks. Some of confusion, understanding, and intense concentration.

"Is there more…?" Eiji asked.

"Yes."

"Aah! My head's going to explode…"

"I can _make_ your head explode."

"Eep! Gomen, gomen, gomen!" Eiji hid behind Oishi.

Sadaharu continued, "You get double the points if you hit two people with one cushion, triple for three, and so on. Don't throw aimlessly, as you will lose half a point every time you hit your own teammate."

"Pssh! Why would we something as stupid as that?" Momo questioned.

Sadaharu held up a tape. "Let's not forget the Ah-Un pair, now."

"Where'd you get that?!"

"I taped it," Sadaharu gave him a look.

"But…where'd you get it?"

"At the _match_, Momo. Where else?"

"Aagh, no! How is it _here_?"

"I brought it with me."

"You carry stuff like that around with you?"

"No."

"Then why do you have it?!"

"I assumed that it would prove useful," Sadaharu smirked. "It did. Now, _may I continue_?"

Momo huffed.

"Okay, each team will have its own base. Team One will get the foyer; Team Two will get the area behind the couch to the kitchen threshold. Is that enough room?" Sadaharu's glasses gleamed.

No one hesitated to nod.

"You and your teammates cannot enter the other team's base. You have free reign over the center territory. Do not use any foul play, or you will have to join in on the two losers'…requirement."

"Did you make all of that up just now?" Fuji asked.

"Maybe," Sadaharu smiled, "But that's for me to know, and for you to find out."

"Nya, that's confusing!" Eiji whined.

"Oh, and that _requirement_…" he pulled out a pitcher of bright yellow liquid. _And it was_ _shining_. "The two people who score the lowest number of points have to drink my Super Special Surprise Inui Juice."

"Special…surprise?" Ryoma mumbled.

Everyone gulped.

Sadaharu laughed. It sounded a little…evil. "It has a different effect every time. I can't _wait_ to see what it does this time."

Everyone gulped again.

"Now we must choose the teams." Sadaharu pulled out a hat from behind his back. "Take one of the papers out," he instructed them. And so they did.

"What's this one mean, Oishi?" Eiji asked.

"I don't know…but I have a two."

Fuji looked down at his number. "What's next?"

"Ones to the right, twos to the left," Sadaharu continued. The two groups formed. Except, the ones ended up on the left instead of on the right. "Close enough," he shrugged.

The ones included Kaidoh, Eiji, Fuji, and Ryoma. The twos were Oishi, Tezuka, Momo, and Taka.

"Do you guys want to choose team names?" Sadaharu asked them.

"We get team names?! YAY!" Eiji cheered.

~*In the huddles…*~

"How about...Team Bumblebee?" Eiji suggested.

"Well, it's better than Team Rainbow," Ryoma sighed. The three glanced at Fuji.

"Well, I liked it," Fuji huffed. "What about Team Cacti?"

"What's cacti?" Eiji asked.

"It's the plural form of cactus."

"Ooohhh."

Ryoma mumbled, "We could just use Seigaku…"

…

"That sounds good, nya!"

"Hmm…it's simple. Alright."

Kaidoh just hissed at them.

"Team SEIGAKU!" Eiji cheered.

Meanwhile, group two was having trouble…

"Team Tennis?" Momo suggested.

"That's a little unusual, Momo," Oishi told him.

"Argh. This is hard! I need a burger…" Momo's eyes lit up.

"We are _not_ being Team Burger, Momo," Tezuka stated. Momo looked a little disappointed.

Oishi said, "Don't team names usually have an animal?"

"Yeah, but which animal?!" Momo was confused.

"BURNING!!!" Taka wasn't paying attention. "GREAT-O!!!"

"…let's just go with Team Burning," Oishi decided. No one rejected.

Sadaharu smiled, "The match between Team Seigaku and Team Burning will now begin. Please get into position."

The players hid behind the furniture of their choice.

"One…two…GO!"

"HEY! You didn't say three!" Eiji whined from his hiding spot.

"BUUURRRRNIIING!!!" Taka sent a cushion over the couch.

"Ow!" Eiji hopped up. "That wasn't nice! NYA!"

Fuji popped out of nowhere and flung the cushion back, where it flopped into Taka. "Whoops…Eiji, you need to keep quiet! That's the point of _hiding_!"

Fuji got smacked in the side of the head.

"You should listen to him, Eiji!" Momo yelled. "He obviously knows what he's doing!"

You could hear Ryoma snicker from underneath the table. Fuji's hair started blowing in the…er…_wind_.

"Momo…" Fuji's eyes glinted.

"…Fuji?" Momo stammered, "How are you doing that?!"

"Doing what?" he smirked. Cushions started to hover next to him.

"AAH!" Oishi and Momo ran for cover. Tezuka just sighed.

"Put the cushions down, Ryoma."

"….damn."

"You guys are no fun!" Eiji pouted.

Momo steamed. "Grr…get 'em!" he shouted. Momo dunked a cushion into Eiji, which made him topple over Kaidoh. Kaidoh gave a loud hiss as he grabbed the cushion and jumped over the couch, where he ran to Momo in a flash and started whacking him with it like it was a pillow fight.

Tezuka and Ryoma battled it out like a dodgeball game off to the side, where Tezuka kept using his Tezuka Zone to snatch all the cushions from Ryoma. Ryoma growled before bounding away. Tezuka chased him around the room until Ryoma found his couch cushion and turned the tables on him. The cushions ricocheted off of his makeshift shield and hit the ground, where they twisted up into the air and bounced into Tezuka.

Meanwhile, Oishi was hiding behind a pole, and Shusuke was waiting to hit him. Oishi peeked, but darted back as a cushion flew past his face. Fuji laughed at him. "Come out, kitty…"

"Huh?!" Eiji shouted as he ran by, followed closely by a burning Taka, who brandished a cushion like a tennis racket.

"Not you, Eiji!"

Oishi sneaked behind Fuji and knocked him over. He then ran off to the other side of the room and started chucking cushions in all directions, hoping that Fuji would get knocked off his trail…literally. One of them flew right into Kaidoh's face, which made him fall over. Momo cheered before taking his chance to get his revenge for the whacks. He didn't get that far, as a cry of **HADOKYUU!** resounded throughout the house and Eiji ducked behind Momo, leaving the underclassman to face the wrath of Taka. Unfortunately for Eiji, Momo toppled over backwards, taking Eiji with him, where they bumped into the couch and fell backwards onto the floor behind it.

"INUI!!! Momo's in our base! Momo's in our base!"

"It's not _MY_ fault!"

Sadaharu's voice boomed from the speakers…wherever they were. "Kikumaru gets one penalty shot!"

"WHAT?!"

Eiji grabbed a couch cushion and jumped off of the couch with a cry of **NYA!** He barreled into Momo, who was forced back to the ground. Eiji jumped back up.

"He's still in our base, Inui!"

"You didn't give me a chance to get out!" Momo shouted.

"Just get out, already!" Kaidoh yelled at him.

"What'd you say to me?!"

"Momo," Sadaharu said, "please leave the premises of the base at this moment."

Momo huffed and walked halfway across the room before getting smacked by another one of Eiji's cushions. "Why, YOU—"

"**BURNING!!!**" Taka shoved past him with two couch cushions, braced for attack. Momo fell back into Oishi, who was forced to stop chucking the cushions as he toppled over. Fuji then decided to show up, with a big smile on his face.

"It's _your_ turn, Oishi," he said spookily, his hair blowing again. Ryoma held up the cushions from behind him. Oishi just stared at them.

Ryoma stared back. "Boo."

"Aah!" Oishi shrieked and stumbled back.

That's when the lights went out.

* * *

Wahaha! Another cliffie! :D I feel so accomplished!

Again, sorry for the wait! I decided to rewrite the entire cushion war part, cause when I first wrote it, it was obvious which team would come out on top…so I made it fairer this time! And the lights part is new. It just kinda came to me when Oishi shrieked. It seemed like the right moment, no?

I'm still open for suggestions, so please send me your ideas!

Dewa mata atode!  
_Yukari_


	4. Out Went the Lights

**Disclaimer:** The Prince of Tennis and all of its characters are © to Takeshi Konomi. I do not own any of the characters used in this story so far (although I do not plan on using any OCs), but the story is still _my property_.

Kittymaru

_Chapter 4: Out Went the Lights_

"NYAAAAAAAAAA! I've gone blind! I'VE GONE BLIND!!" Eiji could be heard panicking in the dark, running around in random directions until he smashed into something hard with a loud **WHAM!**

"WHO DARES DEFY TAKA-SAN?!?!"

"Wah! Not me, not me! It was O-chibi!"

"What did you just say?!" You could feel Ryoma's glare.

Momo snickered.

"Shut up, you baka!"

"Why don't you shut up, Mamushi?!"

"What'd you call me?!"

"Hey!" Oishi called out, "We have to remain cal—AAH!"

"Oishi? What happened?!"

"Something touched my foot!" he gasped out.

Silence.

"Oh, sorry. That was me," Tezuka apologized.

"Tezuka? How'd you end up over here?"

"I don't know…"

"WAH! The house is haunted, the house is haunted!!!" Eiji started panicking again, this time running into Fuji.

"It's okay, I've got you!"

**BANG.**

"NYAAA!"

"Someone find the light switch before he screams our ears off!"

"It's no good, the power went out!"

"How could the power go out? _It isn't even raining_!"

**BANG BANG.**

"AAH!" This time a multitude of people yelled out.

"Someone find a flashlight!"

"Eiji? Where are they?!"

"…ne, Fuji-ko? Did you lock the door behind you?"

"How can you be thinking about the door at a time like this?!"

"Well, I saw this movie on Wednesday with Fuji-ko…"

"Was it the one with the talking fish?"

"No, no…Nemo's a good fishy! He doesn't trespass!"

"Ah, right. What about—"

"What's this about…trespassing?"

"Did someone break in the house?!"

"…Taka-san!"

"**WHAAAAAT?!**"

"First, drop your cushion."

"WHYYYyyyy…oh."

"Taka-san, I have a very important question to ask you." Fuji's blue eyes glinted in the dark.

"Eh? What is it, Fuji? Wait—why are the lights out?!"

"Never mind that, Taka-san. Where did you put your sushi knives when you got here?"

No one said anything as the realization set in.

"I left them with Inui. Why?"

"INUI!!!!!" Eiji yelled out. "IIIINUUUUUIIIIIIII!!!!!"

Nothing.

"Oh my gosh! Where'd Inui go?!"

"HE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED BY THE MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS!"

"…"

"Ah, no, wait! Wrong movie! Never mind!!!"

"Alright! It's time for Operation Save Inui and Turn the Lights Back On!" Fuji yelled triumphantly.

"Yay! Go, Fuji-ko!!!"

"WHAT?!"

"It is time! Ryoma, the cushions!"

"Hai," was the small reply.

"Okay, now here's what we need to do…"

Fuji and Eiji peeked out from behind a wall, looking into the darkness that was believed to lead to the stairs.

"Fuji, Eiji!" Oishi whispered, "What are you trying to do?"

"Shh! Go and help Tezuka, Oishi!"

Oishi could hear them scuffling around. "H-hai," he replied as he scooted back to Tezuka. "What exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"We're supposed to be on watch."

"…how could we possib—"

"Yeah, I know," Tezuka sighed.

**CLANG!**

**CRASH!**

**BONG!**

"…"

"I found the kitchen!" Momo whisper-called.

"Good job, Momo! Now find the matches above the fridge!" Fuji whisper-called back.

"Taka-san, help me find the fridge!"

Ryoma's loud voice broke their whisper conversations. "Why are you guys whispering?"

"RYOMA!" The others whisper-yelled at him.

"You gotta be quiet, nya! Otherwise the monster will get you!"

"_What_ mons—MMPH!"

"Ryoma!" Momo slapped a hand over his mouth. "Be careful! You don't want to end up like Inui, do you?!"

Ryoma just growled at them. It sounded more like a hiss than a growl. Fuji then had a thought…

"Hey," Fuji whispered in a slightly louder voice, "Where's Kaidoh?"

Silence.

"Kaidoh?"

More silence.

"No! He's been taken too! They probably took him instead of you, Ryoma! Not that I mind…" Momo trailed off.

"What's_ that_ supposed to mean?"

"No, no, this is ALL WRONG!" Eiji suddenly shouted, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Eh?" Oishi blinked through the darkness.

"They always target the funny and good-looking ones first! So why did Inui and Kaidoh get taken away?!"

Momo snickered.

"You know, Eiji, if they would have taken the funniest one first, it would've been you instead of Inui."

"…really?"

Fuji nodded.

"……Of course, I'm completely fine with the monster's decision! Yep, yep, yep!"

Tezuka sighed. "Can we please get something accomplished?"

"You know, now that I think about it…" Eiji trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, if the monster really _did _take Inui and Kaidoh…Inui would force the monster to drink some of his Inui juice, and then the monster would **DIE** and then Inui and Kaidoh would be _**FREE**_!"

"…"

"Okay, then…"

"He does have a point, you know."

"So you're saying that we should stop looking for them?" Fuji pondered.

"Well, at least until the lights come back on." Tezuka sighed. "Once we can see, we'll have all the time in the world to look for them."

"But what if they need our help?!" Oishi worried.

"You're right, Oishi! Everyone get back to work!!"

Tezuka groaned inwardly.

There was a bit of thumping on the wall before a cry of surprise broke the whisper-silence.

"Fuji-ko, move over a bit!" Eiji whisper-exclaimed.

"What did you find?!" Oishi gasped.

There was some more thumping, before the sound of splitting wood and a loud **POP**!

"SUGOI! I found it!"

There was a small click, and all of a sudden a dim light shone out from the direction of Eiji's voice.

"Fuji-ko! Help me look through the boxes!"

The other regulars peered through the dim light to see Fuji and Eiji standing by the stairs…next to an open door!

"What's that?" Oishi wondered aloud.

"Secret Stairway Storage Space!" Eiji cheered, "We call it ELKS!"

"…"

Eiji looked over at them. "Hey, I know it's amazing, but shouldn't you have _some_ kind of reaction?"

"Did you say…" Tezuka started.

"ELKS?!" Momo shouted, "What the heck does that have to do with 'Secret Stairway Storage Space'?!"

"It _would_ make more sense if it was called the SSSS," Oishi pointed out.

"Yeah, but it looked weird when we spelled it out! It looks like a hissing noise on paper…"

Everyone waited for Kaidoh to hiss. They then realized that he wasn't there. Taka breaks the silence.

"But why_ ELKS_?"

"Emergency Kikumaru Life Support!" Eiji smiled.

"…Eiji…" Oishi sighed.

"What?"

"That spells E-K-L-S. Not E-L-K-S."

"…………………"

"Eiji? Are you alright?"

"Aw, man! It took me AGES to come up with that name!!!"

"It's alright, Eiji," Oishi sweat-dropped.

"Guys," Fuji called, "I think I found the flashlights!"

"YAY!" Eiji cheered as he threw around said flashlights.

**BOP.**

"Oow!"

Oishi jumped, "Momo?!"

"GAH," Momo yelled back.

"Woops. Sorry, nya!"

Tezuka sighed.

"Okay, now it's time for phase two," Fuji announced, "Oh, and don't forget the matches, Momo."

"But why do we need the matches? We don't need to use candles anymore…"

"Where'd you get the idea that we were going to use candles?"

"…" Everyone stared at Fuji, except Eiji.

"Sometimes you get the strangest ideas, Momo."

"Mm-hm!" Eiji seconded.

Tezuka was starting to wish he had brought his aspirin with him.

"Moving on, Ryoma, Momo, Tezuka, and Oishi will be together. Taka-san, you'll come with Eiji and me!"

"EH?! You want us to separate?!" Oishi cried out.

"Well, yeah! How else are we going to catch the monster?" Eiji nya'd.

"Eiji, I don't think there is a monster," Oishi tried.

Fuji quickly covered Eiji's ears, whispering to him, "Don't listen to him, Eiji, he's being controlled by the monster!!!"

"WAH! NUUU! We have to save Oishi!!!" Eiji ran up the stairs into the blackness…without a flashlight.

"E-Eiji?! I'm right here!!"

"Saa, here's a walkie-talkie!" Fuji threw it to Oishi. "Come on, Taka-san!"

"**BURNING!!!**"

The two rushed up the stairs after Eiji.

"So…now what?" Momo asked.

**BANG.**

"AH!"

Chapter 4! Four chapters…and I still haven't gotten anywhere! I'm proud of myself. =D

Good news for all readers! Now that the semester's over and I don't have any midterms or exams for a few months, I should be able to update more often.   
Just for the record, though, I am being swamped with homework and extracurricular activities, so if you don't hear from me, I've probably met my death by homework.

It's a good thing I can write in death. o-o;

Well, see you later!

_~Yukari_


End file.
